And in that regard, there isn’t a fighter in the world to touch Johnson. He mixes his superb wrestling skills with his slick hands and feet, and sprinkles in some fight-ending jiu jitsu for good measure.

He’s so good, in fact, that he’s made the rest of the UFC flyweight division look distinctly average, and it’s becoming a major problem for the UFC’s matchmakers.

So much so, in fact, that they’ve had to create an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter in an attempt to find a credible new challenger to his title.

It’s likely he’ll have to move up to the bantamweight division in the search for bigger fighting paydays, but for now he’s gunning for the UFC record number of consecutive title defences, currently held by the great Anderson Silva with 10.

Johnson currently sits on eight, but will surely match or surpass Silva’s record in 2017.

Jon Jones

The world’s most dangerous man? Weighing in at 205lbs (and probably a good 10-15lbs more on fight night) and possessing the ability to dismantle the very best fighters in the world, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best.

Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history when he captured the light-heavyweight world title from Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 128 back in March 2011, and he’s looked little short of unstoppable ever since.

Currently sitting on the sidelines serving his suspension, Jones will return to the sport in 2017 looking to reclaim the light-heavyweight title he never lost in the Octagon before considering a run at the UFC heavyweight title.

Conor McGregor

The man of the moment and undoubtedly the biggest star in the sport today, Conor McGregor stands at the top of the UFC mountain as the only fighter to ever hold world titles in two UFC weight classes at the same time.

His rise to the top of the UFC saw him starch Jose Aldo – considered a Top 3 pound-for-pound fighter – in just 13 SECONDS at UFC 194 as he captured the UFC featherweight title.

And he doubled his belt tally at UFC 205 in New York this November when he put away UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez, knocking down the Philadelphia fighter FIVE times in eight minutes en route to an historic stoppage win.

In addition, his 2016 rivalry with Nate Diaz, which saw the pair trade wins at UFC 196 and UFC 202, delivered two of the top three UFC pay-per-view events of all time, with the lingering possibility of a third hanging in the air as we head towards 2017.

Jose Aldo

He may have been knocked out clean by Conor McGregor at UFC 194, but make no mistake, Jose Aldo is one of the very best fighters to tape up a set of four-ounce UFC gloves.

The Brazilian has lost just once (to McGregor) in 11 YEARS, beating a who’s who of the world’s top featherweights as he arrived in the UFC as the WEC 145lb champion, then continued to dominate his division as UFC champ all the way until the end of 2015.

He showed he can bounce back, too, rebounding from his loss to McGregor with a technical counter-striking masterclass as he outpointed Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 to capture the interim UFC featherweight belt.

Now promoted to full, undisputed champion, Aldo will look to make the first defence of his second run against either Max Holloway or Anthony Pettis early in 2017.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

It’s incredibly difficult to directly compare female fighters with their male counterparts, but one thing is clear – Joanna Jedrzejczyk is one of the most ferocious, tenacious, dominant champions the UFC has had in many a year.

‘Joanna Champion’ exploded to prominence with a split-decision win over fellow top strawweight Claudia Gadelha, then proved her championship credentials with a one-sided battering of the inaugural UFC champion Carla Esparza.

A devastatingly powerful striker with Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt skills on the mat, Justino is as formidable – and dominant – as it gets in mixed martial arts.

She hasn’t lost in the 18 fights since her debut defeat and, to put it bluntly, she hasn’t looked remotely like losing, either.

The big problem she has in the UFC is she’s a fighter without a weight class. Justino operates at 145lbs, with the UFC’s biggest female division, the 135lb bantamweight class, just too far away for her to safely make weight.